WND EXCLUSIVE

Proof! SPLC sets rules at Amazon

Christian group gets tossed after being labeled 'hate group'

Bob Unruh joined WND in 2006 after nearly three decades with the Associated Press, as well as several Upper Midwest newspapers, where he covered everything from legislative battles and sports to tornadoes and homicidal survivalists. He is also a photographer whose scenic work has been used commercially.

The left-leaning billionaire CEO of Amazon, Jeff Bezos, is being accused of trying to harm a Christian organization by dropping it from the web giant’s AmazonSmile program, which allows customers to donate a tiny fraction of their purchase to a charity.

The Religious Freedom Coalition confirmed to WND it has been thrown out of the program because the far-left Southern Poverty Law Center labeled it a “hate group.”

And Amazon? Its officials don’t want to talk about their reliance on a group that has been linked to domestic terror through Floyd Corkins’ violent gun attack on the Family Research Council in Washington.

When RFC questioned Amazon about the decision, a lawyer, Ambika Kumar Doran, said there would be no explanation coming.

“Amazon relies on the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control and the Southern Poverty Law Center to determine which registered charities fall into these groups,” the lawyer wrote.

“As you are likely aware, the SPLC has listed RFC on its ‘Hate Map.’ … Accordingly, RFC is not eligible to receive charitable donations from the AmazonSmile Foundation. Should you have any questions regarding the SPLC’s inclusion of RFC on its Hate Map, we encourage you to contact SPLC,” the letter said.

RFC, contrary to Amazon’s characterizations, is a nonprofit that “advocates in Washington, D.C., for the defense and preservation of America’s Christian heritage.”

It supports freedom of religious expression; freedom for pastors, priests and rabbis to preach and teach; the defense of innocent human life from conception to natural death; and traditional marriage.

The progressive agenda adopted by SPLC, however, classifies as “haters” anyone who does not submit to its pro-abortion and pro-homosexual agendas.

RFC also works overseas, with programs such as its Diapers for Refugees.

“Jeff Bezos, the CEO of Amazon, is a radical liberal on social issues and has banned hundreds of pro-family and conservative organizations from using the Amazon Smile donation program including the American Family Association, Coral Ridge Ministries, and Christian legal defense organizations like Liberty Counsel, Alliance Defending Freedom and others. Any group that Jeff Bezos sees as ‘bigots’ (those not supporting his radical social agenda) are removed,” RFC said in a newsletter.

“Jeff Bezos is a strange leftist. He believes in capitalism – his current wealth is over $150 billion and his donations from that wealth show what he believes. He gave $33 million to a college fund for those who came into the United States illegally. He and his wife have given millions to advance same-sex marriage, and he makes sure that Amazon Smile donations go to the baby killers at Planned Parenthood.

“How are conservative and Christians groups excluded from Amazon Smile? Amazon bars all ‘hate groups’ listed by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), a discredited organization whose leaders have hidden millions of dollars in off-shore accounts so they can raise even more money from radical left billionaires like Jeff Bezos.”

The newsletter said: “It has apparently been determined by SPLC and Jeff Bezos that the Religious Freedom Coalition is ‘bigoted’ because we fund Christmas programs for Christian children forced from their homes by Sunni Muslim jihadists. Bezos would have the Religious Freedom Coalition give 95 percent of its aid to Muslims, because they are 95 percent of the population of Iraq. The fact that Christians are victims of genocide is of no concern to Jeff Bezos.

“Of course, our Diapers for Refugees program is ‘bigoted’ as well, because we distribute diapers to Christian families persecuted by Muslim jihadists. Jeff Bezos would probably want us to give diapers to the four wives of one of the jihadist fighters.”

“Amazon Smile’s posted notice says the Religious Freedom Coalition is ‘currently not eligible to receive donations.’ That is deliberately worded to make people think that there is some financial wrong doing. The wording was chosen to do harm to organizations that Jeff Bezos does not like politically,” the newsletter charged.

WND reported another Christian group, the Alliance Defending Freedom, suffered damage from being ejected from the Smile program.

SPLC’s hate list also was used by the charity-information site GuideStar, prompting lawsuits that remain on appeal. While it famously battled the KKK many years ago, of late SPLC has taken to labeling famed surgeon and conservative Dr. Ben Carson as a “hater.” And it was linked to domestic terror through Floyd Corkins, who used information from SPLC to target the Family Research Council with a mass-murder attempt at the Christian organization’s Washington, D.C., headquarters. SPLC also was reprimanded by the far-left administration of Barack Obama, and the Department of Defense and FBI have severed their ties to the group.

Michael Farris, ADF’s president, CEO and chief counsel, said that to justify removing ADF from the Amazon Smile program, Amazon “is hiding behind the Southern Poverty Law Center, a discredited fundraising group that fills its ever-increasing coffers by attacking veterans, Catholics, Muslims who oppose terrorism, and even nuns.”

“SPLC is not a neutral watchdog organization,” Farris said. “Instead, it raises money by slandering people and organizations who disagree with its views. ADF is one of the nation’s most respected and successful Supreme Court advocates, working to preserve our fundamental freedoms of speech, religion, and conscience for people from all walks of life. We would welcome the opportunity to meet with Amazon representatives to explain why they shouldn’t exclude us from the Amazon Smile program.”